Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu congratulated Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz on his joining the government coalition during his opening remarks at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.

"This
is the first meeting of the broad-based unity government and in the
name of all the ministers I congratulate Mofaz and all the Kadima MKs on
their having joined the government," Netanyahu stated.

In the name of all the
ministers I welcome Shaul Mofaz as a government
minister

and congratulate all the Kadima MKs on their
having joined the government

In our discussions, we
formulated four main goalsfor the broad unity
government

Changing the Tal
Law,

changing the electoral
system,

passing a budget,

and
advancing the peace process.

A multi-party team will
be formed this week

that will propose alternatives to
the Tal Law

By the end of June we will pass a law that
will more equally distribute the burden

in a more
equal and just manner, for all Israel citizensArabs and Jews
alike

without pitting sector against
sector

A government team will be formed soonthat will
advance changes to the electoral system

and we will
begin formulating a responsible budget

as we have done
until now, and will continue to do so in the
future

in a way that has protected Israel's
economy

in the face of the global economic
crisis

The prime minister reiterated the four main goals
of the national unity government which he laid out last week - passing
an alternative to the Tal Law, changing the electoral system, passing a
budget and advancing the peace process.

Netanyahu stated that a
multi-party team would be formed sometime this week to find an
alternative to the Tal Law, which allows ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students
to indefinitely defer IDF service. "By the end of June we will pass a
law that will more equally distribute the burden without pitting sector
against sector," the prime minister said. The High Court of Justice
ruled that the Tal Law was unconstitutional in February.

The
prime minister said that an additional government team would be formed
soon "that will advance changes to the electoral system." Last week,
Netanyahu and Mofaz said that the coalition's goal was to implement
electoral reform by the end of 2012.

Finance Minister Yuval
Steinitz said before the meeting that he hopes the forming of the
coalition government will enable the passage of a biannual budget. The
finance minister contended that the previous biannual budget
"considerably aided in Israel's successful dealing with the global
economic crisis and therefore we would like to pass another biannual
budget if it is possible."